A jail in the danger zone of Hurricane Milton has refused to evacuate its 1,200 inmates despite the warnings of potential risk to life.
The hurricane hit areas of the US yesterday (9 Oct) and many parts of Florida have been warned they should evacuate for their own safety.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor shared: “I can tell you right now, that they may have done that with others but there has never been one like this,”
“Helene was a wake up call, this is literally catastrophic. I can say this without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die.”
Despite severe warnings to evacuate, Manatee County Jail has no plans to evacuate its 1,200 inmates.
A deputy that works in the prison shared that the building is in a zone A evacuation area and a mandatory evacuation has been issued to all living in zones A and B.
Manatee County Public Safety Director Jodie Fiske warned: “We do not issue evacuation orders lightly.
“Milton is anticipated to cause more storm surge than Helene. So, if you stayed during Helene and got lucky, I would not press my luck with this particular system.”
In spite of the warnings, the deputy said that the prison had not flooded in the past so they had no plans to evacuate this time.
They have allegedly stocked up on food, supplies and sandbags. In the event of a flood, the inmates will be moved to the top floor.
